Chapter Twenty-One
"Jackal-chan, Jackal-chan, Jackal-chan… What ever am I going to do with you, you silly jackal you?" Kanon only murmured something incomprehensible as her companion laughed gently and shifted her onto his shoulder. He reprimanded her gently, "You know, you didn't have to go that far and drink so much saké for my sake, I can hold down my alcohol quite well."
"Not… As well as I can…" Kanon argued drunkenly. "Kazehaya-sensei… You liar… You know you… Have a low tolerance for alcohol. Urk." They paused for Kanon to take a few deep breaths and force the bile back down her throat.
Kazehaya Minoru laughed his normally booming laugh softly this time, so as not to hurt Kanon's ears in her weakened state. He said offhandedly, "True, true, I suppose, since no one can quite hold down liquor like you can, but still…"
Kanon glared now and said, "Well, I wouldn't have had to go so far in the first place if you hadn't accepted that stupid job in the first place, Idiot-sensei!"
He laughed sheepishly now and said, "Well… How could I bear to turn those kids down anyway, they looked so helpless…"
"You always take pity on everyone and take jobs for less than what's being rewarded," Kanon pretended to complain, "And I always end up paying for it!"
Minoru suddenly stopped and asked somewhat apprehensively, "I'm sorry, Jackal-chan… Do you resent me?"
Kanon sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead, "Of course not, you giant idiot. I just wish you weren't so damned nice all the time, those kids were clearly conning you, I hope you know now."
"I know… But…" The giant man paused guiltily and Kanon rolled her eyes as she continued trying to walk. He started walking with her again, four steps of hers easily equaling only one of his, and they strolled down the empty street together again at Kanon's sluggish pace. Soon, Minoru asked softly, "Do you really think that?"
"Duh." Kanon rolled her eyes and complained again, "Geez, you giant softie, if someone asked you for one of your limbs you'd ask them 'which one' and then hand it over with a smile!"
Minoru laughed and joked, "Well, it's our job to give people a 'hand' if you know what I mean."
Kanon scoffed, "You know, your jokes are getting lamer and lamer every day. You must be getting old."
Her teacher laughed again, "Isn't that right…"Finally he sighed and said, more to himself, "Well, it's the least I can do… After all I've done…"
Kanon slowed slightly to look at him but he was looking straight ahead. After some silence Kanon finally grumbled, "… Idiot-sensei… You're too soft hearted."
Minoru laughed.
"Jackal… Hey, Jackal, you know, school is still in session."
Kanon jolted in her seat as Rin gently shook her awake. She blinked amber eyes a few times in confusion at the staring pair of black ones. Minoru-sensei...? She thought she was having some sort of hallucination until she realized who it really was and suddenly she yawned.
"Aaah… Rin. What are you doing here?" she asked with mock sleepiness. She rubbed her eyes under her fashion glasses and stretched widely. Stupid me, of course it wasn't him. What was I thinking?
Rin placed her hands on her hips as she sighed. She explained, "Well, Suzume-sensei asked me to make sure you were doing your job in her place, since something held her up today."
"Oh?" Kanon asked, she grinned. "I see." Rin turned to look out the window and Kanon asked, suddenly noticing her somber mood, "So… Is something the matter? You're not looking too hot today."
Rin blushed and said quickly, "Ah, I'm fine… Just…" She looked away, unable to meet Kanon's criticizing gaze. The truth was, she was depressed.
On her way there, she had been taking a shortcut when she had overheard a conversation between Masamune and another girl. At first, she was going to overlook it. It was nothing personal really, and who cared if Masamune was talking with another female? The school was made up of about 48 percent of them, so it was unavoidable, right?
So, without wanting to interrupt it, she had started walking back where she had come when the other girl's voice said, all business-like, "My parents are out on business meetings all weekend, so I was wondering whether you'd be free."
Rin froze.
She didn't have to see Masamune's facial expression to hear the sort of smirk in his voice, "Sure, though that really depends on what you had in mind for us to do."
The girl giggled mischievously, "Ah, well, you know. Whatever you wanted to do, I guess. Something fun." Rin clenched her fists and but she was so numb that she couldn't even feel her nails painfully digging into her palms, even as they left deep crescents into her soft skin.
Date also laughed and Rin bit her lip as he replied, "You know what I consider fun, don't you?" Rin could only assume that the girl nodded because Date suddenly sighed, "Well, alright then, if you think you can handle it."
"Is tomorrow afternoon alright then?" she asked.
"Sure, but there is one thing-"
Rin didn't wait to listen to the rest as she turned and hurried back to another route she knew of quickly, her face burning. They still weren't a "steady couple" per say, but Rin had definitely thought they were, at the very least, something more than 'just friends'. After all, she had confessed that she loved him; not all that long ago. A few weeks, even. And although she didn't really know what the phrase 'Ai rahve you' meant in English, she had assumed it was a confession of his… Of a sort…
Because she had thought that, she assumed that they were 'closer' now, but he hadn't openly asked her to be his girlfriend. He hadn't asked her to go out on any dates. They kept their conversations at a minimum. They talked to each other through sparse phone calls and e-mails… And occasionally did they converse online, but it stopped at about there.
Actually, after their last encounter, she had barely gotten to see him again for more than a few minutes and they were never alone. Why did it always seem like as soon as something awkward happened between them, events that made sure they didn't see each other always popped up?
It was as if every time they tried meeting each other, something or other would end up disrupting it and they'd have to cancel or there would end up being some third or fourth party around. The only time she ever got to see him was when he was at the store and, occasionally, he'd come to see her during their lunch period, but it never seemed to be enough. And if she was with Yukimura, Rin could definitely count on Masamune not being around.
Not only that, but lately it seemed he had gotten busier on the political side of things, so it took up most of his free time nowadays, when he wasn't fooling around with his swords. There was some sort of national tournament coming up and he was working even harder than usual.
But so what if another girl just asked Date Masamune out? He was a popular guy; it happened all the time. Besides, she had already decided in the very beginning that she would never fall for a confident, self-loving, jerk like him.
And so what if he decided to go out with another girl even when Rin had sent him a text the previous day asking if he could help her buy some things to repair the antique store with? She could always just ask Motonari; he always seemed to creep around the area… Or, so long as he didn't come into the shop, she could meet with Yukimura and they could-… Rin sighed gloomily.
Still… Even after those weak attempts of consoling herself, suddenly her chest had ached and Rin couldn't understand why she seemed so much more miserable… They weren't a couple... But she wished they were.
Kanon studied Rin's blank expression before she took down a white binder from a shelf overhead and then began thumbing through the pages. She changed the topic and said casually, "So now that it's November, your six month trial as my apprentice is practically over."
"Ah, that's right!" Rin suddenly said. She had officially started in the second week of June and now it almost the end November. Already, frost had begun forming on the ground in some areas. Had so much time really passed since then?
"No need to jump at the thought; you still have about two weeks left, so it's not over yet." Kanon grumbled teasingly. She shrugged and said with mock woe, "It's as if I'm a terrible boss or something." Rin bit back any retorts she had and Kanon asked, "So, what will you do?"
"Do?" Rin asked.
Kanon sighed, "Well… Two weeks may sound like a long time to you, but really, it'll be over before you know it. Once it is over though… What will you be doing afterwards? Will you go back to your waitress job or are you planning on staying my apprentice for good?"
Rin winced. She had never thought about it… Actually, she had been hoping to stay Kanon's apprentice 'forever', if not only to see Masamune every day, but with how things were going… She wasn't sure anymore… It wasn't that she didn't like working for Kanon; far from it. It was the most fun she'd ever had in her life, but this constant on-and-off thing going on between her and Masamune… It confused her and she was never certain of how to act around him anymore.
She knew that what he had told her after she confessed to him previously meant something endearing, but what? Her English vocabulary didn't extend that far (and the fact that he knew more in a foreign language than she did infuriated her. Wasn't he supposed to be stupid or something?! If there was one subject he would always excel at, it would always be English...)
Rin sighed and shook her head despairingly, "I don't know… I'd like to continue being your apprentice but…" She trailed off and Kanon got the message.
"Ah… Bontenmaru again…" she sighed, "Kids are so over dramatic these days." Rin eyed her suspiciously but Kanon only smiled smugly. Kanon shook her head and asked, "What is it with you two anyway? You're like light bulbs, one minute you're on and the next, off."
"Weird alliteration," Rin commented and Kanon shrugged. Rin sighed and said, "Well… I don't know… We just… Aren't as well-matched as I thought."
She shrugged off handedly and Kanon studied her again. Suddenly, a devilish thought popped into Kanon's head and she could barely contain her self-satisfied smirk. She suppressed her inner laughter and said, "Well, I think I know how to change that."
Rin eyed her suspiciously and Kanon forced as calmly as she could, "Come to the shop this Saturday afternoon and I promise that Bontenmaru will be there."
"I doubt it…" Rin murmured.
Kanon asked strangely, "And why is that? It's not like he'll be busy this weekend. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any business meetings and I could always talk Kojuro into giving him a break from his 'oh-so-manly' sword exercises, so he's as good as free."
Rin's face heated up as she remembered his conversation with the female student and muttered, "I-I wouldn't say that…"
Kanon sighed and said, "Well, regardless of what you think, he actually promised he'd be there because I told him you needed help with something."
Rin asked, "With what?" She knew she had that one delivery to make but other than that…
Kanon smirked, "Well, with a certain… Job… But anyway, I have something I want to give you in addition."
Rin turned rigid as she asked suspiciously, "What?"
She had learned by now that Kanon's ideas of 'gifts' were far more complex and bizarre than a normal person's ideas. One example of this being the umbrella with several holes in it that Kanon no longer wanted and another being one of Masamune's old hakama. … The second one, Rin had hidden somewhere else in the shop, not knowing what Kanon expected her to do with it. With the way Kanon had handed it to her, it was as if she thought Rin kept some sort of 'Masamune Shrine' along with the old picture of him… (Which she actually always carried with in her notebook.)
Kanon shrugged, "You'll just have to come and see." She glanced at the clock overhead and teased, "Now go back to class already, you Goody-Goody. Tell Suzu-chan that I'm awake now so she doesn't need to worry about me slacking off."
Rin rolled her eyes and waved, "Bye, then."
Just as she was leaving she heard Kanon say aloud, "And for the record, dragons aren't the only ones who always keep their promises… Jackals are known to be quite loyal when they choose to be."
Later that afternoon, Date found Rin at her desk and he reminded her with a smirk, "Don't forget about our date tomorrow, alright?" He was watching Rin pack her bag with mild interest, as she was doing it somewhat aggressively today and when she did it like that, it could only mean one thing.
Rin was pissed.
About what, he was never really certain, but he could usually make her fess up sooner more than later.
She flushed as she put her books in her bag, the afternoon sun warming her side as she said snapped, "I already told you, this isn't a date."
Nope, nope, nope. Not a date.
She was actually somewhat surprised that he had remembered that she had asked at all. By the way he acted this afternoon-…
The one-eyed teen sighed and wiped away imaginary tears, "You're as cruel as ever, as it's quite clearly a date."
"What makes you think that?" Rin asked furiously and suddenly becoming very interested in rearranging her math book with her literature book.
Date blinked in surprise and then asked curiously, "Hey, is something wrong? You seem really pissed off and somehow you've forgotten that you were the one who suggested going shopping in the first place. Just yesterday afternoon in fact. Tell me, what is it that's making you so bent on thinking it anything but another date?"
Rin's face heated even more and she finally stopped her increasingly violent actions. She recalled her earlier feelings of excitement to get to spend time alone with Date without having to study, even briefly and then how she felt when she overheard his conversation with that girl… Ah, this was like the first time they went to Kanon's shop all over again…
A fist tapped her lightly on the side of her head and a voice called, "Yo space cadet, you're needed back on planet Earth."
Rin blinked and finally turned to Date, who was smiling in an amused sort of way. She sighed and then said, "Well… I didn't say we were shopping, I said I might need help gathering some things for Kanon-sama, and you're the only other person I know allowed in the shop, other than Motonari-kun who I figured would most likely stick his nose up at the request.
"We're only going for a few minutes to a single store and then after that, I'm going home and studying for the final exams which, you should do as well."
Masamune sighed woefully, "Well, you're no fun."
Rin rolled her eyes, "Some of us actually care about our grades here."
Suddenly another voice entered their conversation and asked, "Ooh, making plans for this weekend?" Rin turned to look to see who it was and she instantly paled when she saw Kasuga with her shrewd smirk.
Oh no. Possibly the last person in the world to Rin wanted to overhear her making plans with Date Masamune. She hadn't told Kasuga about what had happened during her last meeting with Date, yet somehow the blonde girl already seemed to know that something was different between the two. Maybe not everything exactly, but something important... Rin knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. Rin thought in horror, She's going to hang this over my head for the rest of my-
"Wow," Kasuga said with mock sweetness, "That's great, I didn't know you two were so close. Are you two dating?"
Date shrugged, "Unfortunately not. We're only meeting for a few minutes and she says for no longer."
"Does she?" Kasuga asked, unfazed and throwing a subtle furious glance at Rin. Rin could feel her cheeks heating up.
"Well, it's true," she mumbled uneasily. Masamune may not have felt it, but Rin could feel the pressure of Kasuga's wrath creeping around her.
"But you two look like such a great couple," Kasuga smirked and Rin's face deepened in color.
Shut up, shut up, shut up… Rin thought in horror. Please, Kasuga-chan, stop before my face turns into a tomato. Rin sent a quick glance in Masamune's direction. He seemed to be smiling, if not faintly… But maybe that was Rin's imagination…
"Oh well, I hate to do this to you Masamune-kun, but I have to take Rin-chan away from you now," Kasuga smiled cheerfully as she grabbed Rin's hand and held it in an iron-like fist, as if making sure the younger girl would be unable to escape.
He waved nonchalantly, "That's fine, I have to go anyway. See you later, Kasuga," He nodded to her Rin and said, "And I'll see you tomorrow then, Rin."
As soon as he left Rin was instantly flooded with Kasuga's excitement and she gripped her hand tightly with both of hers, "Ohmigod Rin-chan, you're going out on another date, and a serious one this time!"
"S-serious? You mean you didn't consider our first trip serious?" Rin asked.
"Not like this!" Kasuga said breathlessly. Her eyes glinted with mischievous excitement, "I mean, this time you're going on a Saturday! You'll have a whole free afternoon afterwards to-"
"Oh no," Rin said quickly and firmly, her face turning red again, "We are not going to-"
"But he's such a smooth talker!" Kasuga said, entirely oblivious to Rin's discomfort. She was reminded then that she had wanted to prepare an outfit for Rin for the first date, but couldn't because it had been a school day. "Come on," she suddenly said, tugging Rin with her, "We're going to your house and we're going to plan a whole make-over for you."
"Apartment," Rin corrected and trying in vain to fight against the other girl. The blonde girl was surprisingly strong for her body mass…
Kasuga looked back at her and said, "Sure, whatever, your home. But come on! I need all the time I can get to make sure you look presentable!"
Rin sighed, knowing this was a losing battle, "Forget it, this isn't going to be any more of a date than the last trip we made, and I'm not going to let you turn me into some sort of-" (she didn't want to say 'prostitute') "-overdressed, lovesick teen or whatever! No way! I absolutely refuse."
Kasuga sighed impatiently and said finally, "I won't overdress you. Fine, if this makes you feel any better, I promise to use your clothes only and Rin-chan? I am going to go through your entire wardrobe, even if it kills me because whether you like it or not, you're going out tomorrow with a member of the opposite sex."
"Well, that shouldn't take you long then," Rin mumbled gloomily as she thought about her tiny wardrobe and finally following her friend out.
A/N: Not much to say about this chapter but that I wrote this (Plus the next possible two) way, way, way before I wrote chapters 8 and over, so a lot has changed story-wise since then. I've had a lot of trouble trying to change the original text to fit the new story line, which has become more intimate since then- so, sorry if some of it seems like we've gone backwards a bit.
I wanted to keep as much of the original text as possible, because what I had written was good, it just wasn't consistent with the story anymore… And unfortunately too much of it contradicted what I've posted, so I had to delete some previous stuff.
Also, there are two new series that I posted to accompany this one. The Problem with Jackals is a follow up of Kanon during her high school years with Kojuro and Suzume, and The Problem with Smart Girls: Side Chapters is a series of extra stories I had created originally for this series, but ended up having to be cut out due to time constraints…. Since this fanfiction is now going to be well over twenty chapters and does not have enough room for extra text.
Ick. More projects to keep up with...
- Jackal
('Ai rahve you' was how I imagined Date Masamune trying to say 'I love you'. Haaa... Japanese accents...)